


absolutely always gotta be destruction

by spellingbee



Series: destruction [3]
Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)
Genre: Bonus Content, First Kiss, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Sibling Bonding, extras, mind-reading, this is just extra stuff for my main fic and not necessary to read at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 08:26:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18339881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spellingbee/pseuds/spellingbee
Summary: Bonus scenes and other content for Doesn't Have to All Be Destruction.Please read part one first, as this does contain SPOILERS for that fic!*NOTE*With the completion of destruction, I'll be uploading any and all future installaions separately. Please subscribe to the series instead of any single fic if you'd like to receive updates!





	1. Chapter 4: Jet's POV

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the promised bonus content for doesn't have to all be destruction!  
> This will include: deleted scenes, alternate pov, bonus scenes (events which take place outside of the main story, mostly), and other miscellaneous bonus stuff.
> 
> The notes for each "chapter" here will include, if applicable: chapter of dhtabd the scene was originally from, canon level (1 being absolutely not canon, never actually happens in-universe, 2 being sort of canon, in that it could have happened but probably didn't, and 3 being completely canon, something that happens offscreen in the main fic), and some notes on why it was removed/changed/never added to the main fic, etc.
> 
> Nothing here is beta-read unless otherwise noted. All mistakes are my own, and since a lot of this is going to end up being rough-draft material, there's probably a lot of mistakes, haha. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> This first chapter is a simple rewrite of a scene in Chapter 4. It was funny for me to imagine this from Jet's POV instead of Party's, bc he has NO idea what the hell Party's doing, so this was just for my own amusement.  
> Canon Level: 3

"Huh?" Jet looks at them, confused, and then it clicks. "Oh, fuck." He stops, mind reeling, and turns back toward the others. "Shit, I didn't think of that."

Party Poison's watching him. They purse their lips in thought. "Can you turn the signal back on for, like, a second and open the door an' then turn the signal off again?"

If only it were that easy. Jet suppresses a sigh and shakes his head. "No, my power doesn't work like that. We have to take a different route." He frowns, thinking, running through options as fast as he can. "There's a couple doors we could use, that open analog, but--but they're on separate sides of the building, I don't know which way would be safest." Fuck, how are they going to do this? Jet has no idea how long the surveillance is going to stay offline, no idea how long it'll take before they're discovered.

Party Poison nods. "...You can carry me, right?"

"Huh?" says Jet, because, what? What does this have to do with any of their current predicaments? "Um, yeah, probably. You're pretty light. Why?" 

Party Poison just grins at him and says, "Catch me," and suddenly they're falling forward, slumping over.

Jet scrambles to catch them before they can hit the ground, hefting them to their feet before realizing that it would probably be best to just lay them down.

Party Poison's out, and Jet feels like all their problems just got ten times worse.

Jet has no idea what's happening or what he can do to help. He leans over Party Poison, trying to figure out how to fix it, and then suddenly Party Poison is gasping and staring up at him.

"Fuck, wait, where are the doors?" Party Poison asks, and they sound frantic.

"What--?" Fuck, they must have fainting spells or something that mess with their brain or memories or something. "You just--you collapsed, I don't--"

Suddenly Party Poison's face is a lot closer, and they pull Jet down by the jacket, staring up into his eyes. "The doors," they say, voice steady and insistent. "Where are they?"

"Uh--there's one toward the back, beyond Block C-3 and through a couple halls. The other's on the west side, near the cafeteria," he tells them in a rush. "Party--"

"Thanks!" says Party, who then promptly collapses again.

Jet barely manages to catch their head before it smacks into the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has no regular update schedule and will update whenever I have something to post here.
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment if you enjoyed! :)


	2. Chapter 4/5: The Trunk Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the original draft of part of the escape scene from chapters 4 and 5.   
> Originally, I'd planned on two of the prisoners Jet and Party rescued--the kid and one of the women--to leave Battery City with them. They were in all the maintenance tunnel scenes, the final escape scene, etc.   
> However, I noticed that I kept forgetting to include them and writing scenes in a way that they couldn't fit in properly, so I scrapped the idea and rewrote several scenes, including this one.  
> This was too funny to me to get rid of entirely, though, so here it is.
> 
> Canon Level: 1 (never actually happened within the fic's canon)

“No room!” Party Poison shouts. “Throw ‘im in the trunk!” 

Kobra Kid runs past the car and Jet shifts in his seat to watch, trying to avoid bumping the person beside him too badly. The trunk of the car opens of its own volition--actually, he’s pretty sure that was Party Poison’s telekinesis at work--and he hears a muffled, “Will you be okay?”

Another voice, louder but still faint, exclaims, “It ain’t the first time I’ve been in a trunk, dickbag!” There’s a thump, and a curse, and then the trunk slams shut and Kobra Kid races forward and jumps into the passenger seat.

“Go, go!” he shouts, and the car starts up, Party Poison jolts forward, and the car is careening across the sand. 

Jet grins. They’re out of the city.

They made it.  _ He _ made it. He  _ escaped! _ He actually  _ got out of Battery City! _

“Fuck,” says Kobra Kid, dispassionately. “Incoming.”

Jet turns to look out the back window, and he berates himself for congratulating himself too early. After all, his power is pretty much bringing about the worst case scenario, isn’t it?

Because there’s what looks like a legion of BL/ind cars and motorcycles speeding out of the broken city gate toward them.

Fan-fuckin’-tastic.

 

==========

 

“We got Dracs on our tail!” Party shouts, pressing down harder on the ga pedal. Kobra leans out the window to get a better look at the Draculoids racing toward them on their shining white motorcycles.

“I can get rid of ‘em pretty easy with Ghoul’s help,” he says, eyeing them. There’s a calvary of about twenty that he can see, and maybe a dozen cars, probably carrying some of BL/ind’s superheroes, or maybe just exterminators. He could probably figure out which if he concentrated on them, but just blowing them all up would probably be a better idea.

“Jus’ keep us out of the blast zone, Kobes,” says Party. Kobra nods.

_ ‘Ghoul,’ _ he thinks.  _ ‘Need you to scream.’ _

__ _ ‘What?’ _ the reply comes immediately.  _ ‘What’re you blowin’ up?’ _

__ _ ‘Got a coud’a Dracs,’ _ he thinks.  _ ‘Some agents, too.’ _

__ _ ‘Don’t wanna kill ‘em.’ _

__ _ ‘Don’t have to. Should be able to just flip the cars an’ stuff, get ‘em off our tail.’ _

__ _ ‘No guarantee, though.’ _

__ _ ‘Never a guarantee, Ghoul.’ _ Kobra’s still leaning out the window when the first blast from a ray gun shoots past his face. “Fuck!”  _ ‘Ghoul, make a decision!’ _

__ _ ‘Damn it--yeah, okay! Jus’ lemme know when you’re ready!’ _

Kobra watches the BL/ind vehicles move closer. “Party,” he says. “Can you get this thing goin’ faster?”

“Maybe!” Party’s eyes are flicking between the rearview mirror and the windshield. “Not without takin’ my hands off the wheel, though, and you’re ‘bout t’ be occupied!”

Kobra’s gaze flickers to the BL/ind agent in the backseat.. Ex-BL/ind agent, he supposes. He doesn’t quite trust this guy yet, but he’s not getting any troubling thoughts or emotions from him--fear and anxiety, yes, but he’s pretty sure he’s picking that up from everyone in the car, in varying amounts.

“Hey,” he says, ducking back into the car. The BL/ind guy looks over at him, eyes wide. “Can you lean forward and take th’ wheel while Party does their thing?”

“What?” the guy blinks at him, and Kobra rolls his eyes. 

“Lean forward,” Kobra says again, “an’ steer the car. Party’s gotta speed up if we’re gonna get far enough away t’ hit where we need to.”

“Oh,” he says, then, “Oh! Oh, yah, I--hang on.” The guy moves forward, leaning over the seat as Party shifts to one side, and grabs the wheel with one hand. “Okay,” he says, and Kobra’s picking up even more nervous energy from this guy. Ugh, fuck, he better not steer them off a cliff or somethin’.

Party, foot still pressed to the pedal, frowns down at their feet. “Okay,” they say. “Never done this before, but--” They flick their wrist, clench their fist, and make a quick punching motion.

The car shoots forward, scenery turning into a blur around them and the BL/ind cars falling behind them. The BL/ind guy in their car swears under his breath, stretching to bring his other arm up around Party to grip the wheel.

_ ‘Ghoul!’ _ Kobra thinks.  _ ‘Now!’ _

There’s a piercing scream from the trunk of the car, and Kobra moves quickly, dragging the sound toward him and firing it behind the car. He stretches the sound out into a line rather than the usual cone shape, and he thinks,  _ wall _ . He aims the edge of the sound at the front of the lines and lets it go.

Instantly, there’s a wall of sand behind them, shooting high into the sky and stretching to their left and right. He hears a crash, then another--hears an explosion, and winces.

_ ‘They’re probably okay,’ _ he thinks at Ghoul, who bangs on the lid of the trunk in lieu of a resonse.

He sits back in the seat, looks over at Party and the BL/ind guy. “Keep it up for a couple minutes, guys. Gotta make sure we get far enough.”

“Yeah,” says Party, and their voice sounds strained. “That’s prob’ly--’bout as long’s I can make it last.”

“Are you doing okay?” the BL/ind guy asks, and he sounds more concerned than nervous. “You’re not gonna faint again, are you?”

Party barks out a laugh. “Nah,” they say. “Not if I’m gonna keep this up--fuck, turn, turn,  _ turn-- _ no,  _ right, fuck!” _

The ex-BL/ind agent forces the wheel to the right just in time to narrowly avoid a boulder--the one spray-painted in cool greens and blues, the one marking the halfway point between Batt City and their own stronghold--and the car whips to the side. There’s a distinctive  _ thunk _ from the trunk, a loud curse, and then Ghoul sends a series of expletives to Kobra, who snorts.

“Ghoul says if you’re not careful, he’s gonna bury you headfirst in the sand and then stick his boot--” he pauses, snorts again.  _ ‘I’m not translating the rest of that.’ _

__ _ ‘FUCK you.’ _

__ _ ‘Maybe later. Kinda busy right now.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god i wish i could have left this in the fic....idk why "ghoul's in the trunk, screaming" is such a funny concept to me, but it is.
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment if you enjoyed! :)


	3. That Time FunKobra Happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kobra pines.  
> Ghoul doesn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit of backstory! It occurs about 3 years before the events of doesn't have to all be destruction, when Kobra is 18 and Ghoul is 19.  
> Just wanted to write something that was briefly mentioned in Chapter 13 of that fic! :)
> 
> Canon Level: 3 (definitely happened, 100% canon)

"I'm goin' out to my workshop," Ghoul says, stretching his arms out over his head. Kobra watches him, following the arch of his back with his eyes.  
  
He's pretty sure Ghoul's wearing one of his shirts today, because it hangs off his frame in a baggy cascade, the hem of the tank hanging almost to his knees, and the arm-holes go almost to the waist of his jeans, showing off long strips of skin.  
  
If Kobra didn't know better, he'd think Ghoul was teasing him, trying to passively catch his attention, but he _does_ know better. He can read every thought that flits through Ghoul's mind if he chooses to--and he tries not to, honestly, because Kobra's in love with this tiny idiot and the fact that Ghoul doesn't feel even remotely the same really does hurt, as much as he tries to pretend it doesn't--and, well. Ghoul's just wearing the shirt because it was the first one he'd found on the floor this morning.  
  
Kobra shakes his head, dragging his eyes away from Ghoul. "Okay," he says, trusting that his voice--always so flat and toneless, no matter what he tries--won't give away what he's feeling right now. "Have fun." He moves into the living room, flops onto the sofa and picks up a magazine. Murder Magazine. One of Ghoul's favorites. Great.  
  
"Yeah, ya know I _always_ have fun bangin' scraps up with a hammer," Ghoul says. He’s only being partially sarcastic. "We should go scavengin' soon, I wanna see if I can get some more electronics. Make somethin' useful."  
  
"Sure," Kobra says, not looking up from his magazine.  
  
"Cool." Footsteps across the cracked linoleum of the diner floor indicate that he's finally actually leaving, and then the front door opens and shuts, and Kobra lowers the magazine into his lap, lays his head against the sofa, and sighs.  
  
He's keeping his brain fed on only his own thoughts more often than not lately, and the strain of keeping his mental walls up is exhausting. Now that Ghoul's gone to his workshop, Kobra can loosen his hold, if only a little. He relaxes his mental shield and opens himself up to a greater range, doing his best to keep it at the diner only. He can feel Party in their bedroom, hear their thoughts: _'--this outfit keeps me cool longer but it's really only an_ okay _look, so I should go with this one instead, I might die of heatstroke but at least my ass will look great--'_  
  
Party's thoughts are annoying and rambly and full of way too much romance and sex--which really doesn't make him feel great, because he thinks of romance and he thinks of Ghoul and he's kind of trying not to do that right now--but having to listen to them is still preferable, at least right now, to using all his energy blocking everything out.

_ ‘Dying of heatstroke is inadvisable,’ _ he thinks to Party, startling them enough that he hears the  _ thunk, _ feels the surprise and the spark of pain that erupts in their mind.  _ ‘Sorry,’ _ he thinks. 

_ ‘Why’re you eavesdroppin’ on me, asshole?’ _ Party thinks to him. He hears the door to their bedroom open, hears their footsteps across the linoleum floor.

_ ‘Had to drop my shields,’ _ he thinks. He doesn’t look up as Party approaches, and he feels the couch cushions dip as they sit at the opposite end. 

“Too much again?” Party asks out loud. He feels them bring their feet up onto the sofa, drop them into his lap. The magazine crinkles.

Kobra leans forward, picks Party’s feet up and carefully pulls the magazine out of the way. The pages are wrinkled, but the pictures are still okay, so Ghoul won’t mind. He closes the magazine and sets it down on the floor, atop a stack of similar items. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Party says. They shake out of the grip he has on their ankle and resettle their feet in his lap. “Fuck, Kobes, you should just tell him how you feel.”

Kobra lets out a huff, throws his head back against the back of the sofa to look up at the ceiling. “That’ll just make everything worse,” he says. “He doesn’t feel the same way about me. I’ll have to keep my mental shields up  _ all _ the time so I don’t have to feel him...pitying me or whatever.” Fuck, talking is exhausting.

Party snorts. “Yeah, like  _ Ghoul _ is gonna feel  _ pity. _ Anyway, maybe he doesn’t feel that way  _ now, _ but if he knows how  _ you _ feel, he might change his mind!”

And there’s a little note of hope in their tone, in their mind--hope and  _ knowing _ and smugness, none of which are deserved because Kobra knows they’re completely wrong.  _ ‘That doesn’t even make sense,’ _ he thinks to them.  _ ‘You don’t just  _ develop feelings  _ for people because  _ they  _ have feelings for  _ you _.’ _

“Look, little bro, of the two of us, who has more experience with romance and matters of the fuckin’ heart, huh?”

_ ‘Well if I wanna look for a meaningless fling, I’ll ask for your advice,’ _ Kobra thinks to them, maybe a little cruelly. Party doesn’t do  _ meaningless _ flings, but their relationships never seem to last. That’s just more evidence that their advice is useless to him, though. He doesn’t want a  _ fling _ with Ghoul--he’s in  _ love _ with Ghoul. He wants to hold his hand and kiss his cheek and throw his arm over his shoulders and wake up next to him and think sappy thoughts about him without feeling like complete garbage.

But instead all he can do is have stunted conversations with him and avoid eye contact with him and carefully  _ not _ touch him, even when he sits really close to him, because casual contact like the fucking  _ hair _ on their arms brushing against each other could make him combust. 

Beside him, Party sighs. “Just talk to him, Kobes,” they say. “You’ll feel better, I promise. And even if you tell him and he doesn’t like you back, then you can move on.”

“I’ll never move on,” Kobra says. He bites his lip.  _ ‘Ghoul’s perfect. Even if he doesn’t like me like that, I’ll--there’s no one else. There can’t be.’ _

“Kobra, you’re  _ eighteen, _ ” Party says. “You’ve only met like twelve people in your entire life.”

_ ‘I’ve met way more than  _ twelve,’ he thinks back. This conversation is exhausting.  _ ‘And I can’t help it, it’s true. Ghoul’s the only one for me.’ _

“Then fuckin’  _ tell _ him that!” Party says, clearly exasperated. 

_ ‘Maybe _ ,’ Kobra thinks to them. Honestly, everything’s exhausting anymore--he uses up so much energy just keeping his shields up around Ghoul, keeping himself from having to hear the purely platonic thoughts running around Ghoul’s mind--that it’s tough to do anything else. He’s lucky BL/ind hasn’t sent a raid out this way in a while, because he isn’t sure he’d be able to handle it before he dropped right down in the sand and died or something.

Maybe if he tells Ghoul, he...well, he won’t be able to  _ get over _ Ghoul--he’s certain that he’ll always love Ghoul--but maybe he can just...get himself used to the fact that Ghoul will only ever think about him platonically. Maybe he can just drop his mental shields and get used to uselessly pining for him. It would have to be better than this constant exhaustion, right?

“Think about it,” Party says. They lean toward him, ruffle his hair, and then they’re gone, back off to their bedroom, leaving him alone on the sofa.

_ ‘Seriously, don’t wear the heatstroke-inducing outfit,’ _ Kobra thinks to them. 

_ ‘Fuck off,’ _ they think back, fondness lacing the thought.

He has to tell Ghoul. 

 

==========

 

It’s a couple of hours later that Ghoul comes back into the diner.

Kobra’s sitting in the booth closest to the door, watching out the window. He wants to get this over with as fast as possible. Let Ghoul rip his heart out immediately, rather than drawing it out any longer.

Fuck. He’s getting really melodramatic, huh?

He’s still got his mental shields up, keeping the workshop and its single occupant out of his head, and when he sees the workshop door open, he snaps the walls up tighter, blocking out every thought but his own. Almost immediately, a wave of lethargy overtakes him, and it’s a struggle to do anything but sit there.

Still, he forces himself to get up out of the booth and move toward the door, feet dragging across the floor. He feels like he’s moving through syrup, but he makes it to where he’s headed, and his shields are still in place.

He should drop his shields for this, he knows, but--Ghoul’s anti-romance feelings are going to be strongest right after Kobra tells him how he feels. He wants to avoid hearing those. He’ll drop them tomorrow, or maybe even later--once he’s sure it won’t hurt so much.

The door swings open, and Ghoul steps inside. Kobra’s heart flutters. Stupid heart. 

It’s hard to keep his eyelids up, but Ghoul is here, and he doesn’t want to block out the sight of him.

Ghoul closes the door behind him, steps further into the diner. “Hey, Kobra,” he says, and flashes a wide grin at him.

Kobra’s heart flutters again, and he can’t stop looking at the way Ghoul’s lips are stretched into a smile, the way his eyes squinch up when he’s truly happy, the sheer  _ happiness _ in his face, and how much more perfect that makes him look, and Kobra feels a sudden surge of energy that pushes him forward, and then Kobra’s pressing closer to Ghoul, he’s wrapping his arms around him, and he’s pressing his lips against Ghoul’s.

Ghoul’s stiff under his touch, and Kobra doesn’t even realize what’s happening until suddenly he’s  _ not _ stiff, he’s  _ kissing Kobra back, _ and it’s wonderful, it’s amazing, it’s--

Kobra jumps back, releasing Ghoul with a gasp. “Fuck,” he mutters, because his energy is rapidly leaving him again. “Fuck, I--fuck, I’m sorry, Ghoul, I didn’t--I shouldn’t have--”

“Kobes,” says Ghoul, and his voice is soft and low but still sharp enough that it halts Kobra’s words in their tracks, “shut up.”

And then  _ Ghoul _ is kissing  _ him, _ and it’s--it’s fucking  _ electric, _ and unlike anything he’d ever thought it would be, and okay, this isn’t platonic, right? This is--this is definitely _ not  _ a platonic kiss.

He folds Ghoul into his arms again, lips sliding against his, and he lets his mental shields drop.

Immediately, his mind is flooded with Ghoul’s thoughts, and there’s no way he can keep them out, even if he wanted to--which he doesn’t.

_ ‘--never even thought about kissin’ him before now but fuck yeah I don’t ever wanna stop,’ _ Ghoul is thinking, and it isn’t even directed at him, it’s just--it’s just Ghoul’s thoughts. About  _ him. ‘--can’t believe I never thought of this, fuck, don’t wanna let go of him, didn’t think he’d feel this way, didn’t think  _ I’d _ feel this way--’ _

And, fuck. Ghoul’s in love with him.

Ghoul’s in love with him, but Kobra didn’t know it because  _ Ghoul _ didn’t know it, and isn’t that just so typical?

Kobra breaks the kiss again, and he really wishes he didn’t have to do that, but-- “Ghoul,” he says, looking Ghoul straight in the eye, “you’re a fucking idiot.  _ I’m _ a fucking idiot. Do you wanna be my boyfriend?”

“Fuck you,” Ghoul says, leaning forward and bumping his head into the center of Kobra’s chest. “Yeah, I wanna be your fuckin’ boyfriend.”

And so Kobra kisses him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in conclusion, funkobra is an excellent ship bc they're both dummies who love each other. <3


	4. Chapter 18: Deleted Scenes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled a bit with figuring out how exactly I wanted Chapter 18 to go, and whose POV I wanted to use. So here's some deleted scenes from the first draft of the chapter, featuring different events and more Kobra!  
> I already had some hints/foreshadowing I wanted to include in the chapter, but wasn't sure exactly how to bring it up, so if you notice something similar to what made it in to the actual chapter, it's probably important. ;)
> 
> Canon Level: 1 (never actually happened within the fic's canon)

_ ‘Okay,’ _ Kobra thinks to Jet later that morning--or maybe it’s the early afternoon; he’s not really sure because he’s currently laying on his back in a diner booth and not looking at a clock. He’ll check later.  _ ‘That’s fuckin’ great, I think you’ve got it down now.’ _

__ _ ‘Yeah,’ _ Jet replies, and Kobra can sense both pride and weariness accompanying his thoughts.  _ ‘Thanks, I--should I try it again? I think I can shut it down faster if I concentrate on the--’ _

__ _ ‘No,’ _ Kobra interrupts, drumming his fingertips on the vinyl seat he’s laying on.  _ ‘You’re done for today. Well, for this morning. Afternoon. Whatever--time isn’t real. Anyway, get back here and rest up.’ _

__ _ ‘Oh, okay. Uh, what do you mean done for  _ this morning?’ Jet’s response is tinged with confusion.  _ ‘We don’t train in the evenings….’ _

__ _ ‘One more test,’ _ Kobra thinks to him.  _ ‘You’ve basically got control over your power, right? Well, besides the exact  _ type _ of disaster, but we already decided you couldn’t do that, anyway.’ _

__ _ ‘Right….’  _ Jet still doesn’t seem like he understands what Kobra’s getting at, but that’s fine. He’ll explain later.

_ ‘Just come home and recharge,’ _ Kobra tells him, and then tells Party basically the same thing. And also throws in a reminder that Jet needs to  _ sleep, _ thank you very much, and Kobra’d better not pick up any thoughts indicating anything else is happening or he’s going to mix sand in their hair dye. 

He wouldn’t actually do that, because it’s a waste of resources and a good way to get Party pissed at him for days, if not  _ weeks _ , but the threat should be enough to allow Kobra some peace and quiet and Jet the rest he needs.

Party agrees with minimal grumbling, thankfully, and Kobra’s able to drop the connection with both of them. He sits up, rubbing his eyes, and focuses on Ghoul instead.

_ ‘Still good?’ _ he sends, and Ghoul replies with a voiceless affirmative from his workshop. Kobra could go in there and hang out with him while he waits for Jet and Party to get back, but...honestly, he’s kind of enjoying the solitude right now.

Ghoul’s thoughts are quiet enough at the moment that it’s easy enough to ignore them, and the current absence of both Party and Jet means the diner is quiet in more ways than one.

He gets up and walks over to what used to be their living room, sits on the floor where their sofa used to be. This part of the floor’s become, more or less, their garbage can, and is now almost covered in a layer of trash. Seriously, one of these days he’s gonna fill up the car with all their garbage and drive it to Battery City. Let BL/ind deal with it.

Not that that’s important right now. Kobra kicks aside a pile of empty cans and old paper sacks, miscellaneous machinery bits and ruined clothes, and makes himself comfortable on the floor. He closes his eyes, lets his mind wander as he just sits cross-legged, enjoying the silence.

Yeah, he could use his sound manipulation to make diner quiet anytime he wants, but this way he doesn’t have to expend any energy or focus on anything.It’s nice.

He can still feel Ghoul’s mind, buzzing at the edge of his awareness. It’s a steady presence, calming, really--as long as Ghoul doesn’t get too excited (and he rarely does when he’s working), it won’t draw his attention.

There’s no one else near enough for Kobra to pick up without trying. The radio is off, the lights are out, the curtains are closed. It’s dark and quiet and only a little too hot, and he almost wants to sleep, but that would be a waste.

He thinks of Jet instead.

Kobra’s honestl impressed with how far he’s come in the past month. In  _ just _ the past month, he adds to himself, because when he’d helped Ghoul with his power, it had taken him almost half a year to develop the kind of control that Jet seems to have, enough control to ensure he wouldn’t use it on accident just because he got a little upset and raised his voice slightly.

Hell, even Party and Kobra himself had taken longer than a month to figure out their own powers. It had taken Party over a month just to figure out how to  _ move _ in their spirit-form, and, fuck, it had taken Kobra  _ two years _ to figure out how to purposely block out other people’s thoughts.

With what Jet’s said about the inner workings of BL/ind and how they treated him, it’s clear that he hadn’t really been able to even  _ work _ on his self-control until he came out here, so--the point is, Jet’s progressed pretty quick, and Kobra can’t even give himself all the credit. Jet’s just very...determined. 

He’s so unwilling to let anyone else get hurt by his power that he focuses intently on gaining the control he needs to prevent it.

He isn’t the type of person to use his power to hurt innocents. Kobra knows this, would know it even if he wasn’t almost constantly peering into Jet’s mind, because his words and his actions both lead to that same conclusion.

The things he saw in Mad Rabbit’s head won’t change any of that.

Kobra sighs, stretches his legs out in front of him. He only has a few more minutes to himself, and he’s already wasted too much time thinking about Jet. He wants to think of other things now. Like taking Ghoul out on a date.

Because maybe Party and Jet’s failed date last night had reminded him that he hadn’t actually gone out on an actual  _ date  _ with Ghoul in a pretty long time--and since he’d actually only gone along last night to make sure Party didn’t get themself kidnapped again, that didn’t count.

Anyway, crowds aren’t really Ghoul’s thing. Parties and bars full of people just don’t agree with him. The best date for Ghoul--and, honestly, for Kobra too--would be doing something fun together, just the two of them.

Kobra thinks on this for a bit before hitting on the perfect date idea, and he allows himself a little grin.

 

\----------

 

“You want me to test my powers  _ here?” _ Jet asks. It’s evening, and he’s just woken up, so he’s not quite sure if he heard Kobra right or not. He bites his lip, which kind of hurts his nose, so he stops doing that almost immediately. “Are you sure? You don’t think I should train away from home a little longer?”

“No,” Kobra says, folding his arms over his chest. “You’ve practiced more than enough out there. What we need to do now is have you practice around actual buildings, and around people. Make sure you can aim it so it won’t hit anything you don’t want it to, and make sure havin’ more distractions around won’t make it impossible for you.”

That certainly sounds reasonable, and Jet’s pretty sure he can handle it, but he can’t help but think that there are a lot more potential disasters he can cause around three people, two buildings, and a car than when it was just him and some plants in the desert.

“Can you give me a little while? To prepare?” he asks, and Kobra shrugs.

“Sure,” he says. “Me ‘n’ Ghoul’re gonna go do some tradin’, anyway. He finished a couple things, should bring in good carbons.” Kobra pauses, looks him over. “You want anythin’?”

“Huh?” Jet feels himself frown slightly. Does he want something...from the store?

“From Tommy Chow Mein’s, yeah. Like I said, Ghoul should get paid pretty good for this stuff. We can afford a little more. You want anythin’?”

Jet hasn’t considered that. Picking something out from the store to eat. He’s mostly just been letting everyone else choose, and then eating whatever’s available. But...something he can choose for himself? “Um,” he says. “Maybe...mustard?”

“Mustard.” Kobra shrugs again. “Sure. If he’s got it. Red and Hen don’t usually sneak condiments out, but I’ll see.”

 

\----------

 

“So?” Ghoul asks, looking between Jet and Party and still wearing his huge and terrifying grin.

“So what?” Party asks.

“So,” Ghoul drags the word out. “Is it true?”

“Oh my god,” Jet says, letting his head drop to the table nd probably earning a few more bruises in the process. “Ow! Damn it.”

“Oh yeah, it’s true,” Party says, sounding smug, and Jet chokes, lifting his head quickly.

“No it isn’t!” he hisses. “Why would you  _ say _ that?”

“Oh yes it fuckin’ is!” Party says. They look at him a moment, studying him, and their eyes widen. “Oh my god,” they say. “Oh my god, Jet, do you  _ not _ know how big your dick is?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as you can see, the chapter kind of strayed from my original path, but in the end i think it's much better than the original! :)
> 
> feel free to leave a comment below if you enjoyed! :D


	5. Chapter 19: Wake-Up Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a deleted scene from Chapter 19!   
> This was removed not so much because I struggled with the chapter, but mostly because it felt unnecessary to focus on this with so much else going on in the chapter.
> 
> Canon Level: 2 (parts of it are canon, but other parts are not, mostly because certain details got worked in later or were erased entirely)
> 
> Enjoy! :)

If nothing else, being shaken awake by Jet at three in the morning provided Kobra with a break from his usual wake-up sequence of disentangling himself from Ghoul.

“Sorry,” Jet says as the two of them stand facing him, “but Party said we have a problem. Show Pony’s gone missing.”

Kobra blinks. It takes a few moments for his brain to fully engage, and then he’s suddenly aware of four additional sets of thoughts and emotions, instead of the usual three. He winces, takes a deep breath to steady himself, and pulls his awareness in a bit. “Cherri’s here,” he says to Ghoul. “We need to get dressed.” He looks at Jet, squinting. “...Put a shirt on,” he says, and then he catches a sheepish thought of Jet’s and rolls his eyes, though he knows Jet can’t see it in the dark. “And put your own pants on, we might need to move and you don’t wanna rip the ass of your jeans.”

He pushes Jet out the door and closes it behind him, strips off his nightshirt and grabs a fresh, relatively clean shirt. 

“How long’ve they been gone?” Ghoul asks, pulling on a pair of pants.

Kobra thinks for a moment, focusing on Cherri and Party. “Two or three days,” he says after a moment. 

“D’you think BL/ind got ‘em?” Ghoul kicks at a pile of blankets near their mattress.

Kobra shakes his head. He doesn’t want to think about it. With Party having been taken so recently--just over a month ago--it’s worrying to think that one of their friends would have met the same fate. “Dunno,” he says truthfully. “Gonna find out. C’mon, Ghoul.”

They leave the room and head over to Party and Cherri, who are now seated at one of the diner booths.

“Oh, Kobes,” Party says. “Jet tell ya?”

Kobra nods, sliding into the seat beside Cherri. “Where’ve you checked so far?” he asks.

“Checked with Doctor D first--that’s who they went to see--and he said they’d left later that night,” Cherri tells him, fiddling with the seat of his coat. “So I checked at a couple places nearby--Hot Chimp’s, Bee Sting’s, Peachy’s--but no one’d seen ‘em.” He shakes his head, sighs. “So I checked around the main hubs of the stronghold, but no one’s seen ‘em since before that night. This was my last hope, but….” Cherri shrugs, looking helpless. “Either they skipped off to another stronghold, or….” He trails off, but everyone knows what he means.

Because if Pony was dead, someone would’ve found their body by now. But if they were captured….

“Okay,” Kobra says. “We’ll find ‘em.”

Party’s looking at him, and as he picks up their thoughts, he turns to meet their eye.  _ ‘We’re not goin’ to Battery City,’  _ he thinks to them.  _ ‘We’re gonna check around the stronghold again, just to be safe, and if they’re gone--that’s it. They’re gone.’ _

_ ‘Why the  _ fuck _ would BL/ind take  _ Show Pony _ though, Kobes?’  _ they send to him, and though their face looks fairly calm, he can feel their anxious energy almost as keenly as if it were his own. 

_ ‘I don’t know,’ _ he thinks, pulling up a mental shield to keep Party’s emotions from leaking into his mind,  _ ‘They don’t have a power, they don’t have any information BL/ind would need--at least, they didn’t a few days ago.’ _

_ ‘Then  _ what, _ Kobra?’  _ they think.  _ ‘There’s gotta be a reason!’ _

_ ‘We don’t even know that’s what happened to ‘em!’ _ he thinks back.

Jet comes into the room then, dressed more appropriately in properly-fitted jeans, shirt and jacket. He has another pair of pants and a shirt slung over his shoulder, which he passes to Party. “Should we eat first?” he asks. “Or take breakfast with us?”

“Don’t bother,” Kobra says. He stands up, moves over to grab his favorite jacket from where it’s laying across another booth. He slips it on, focusing on the comforting weight and feel of it rather than on the swirling thoughts of those around him. “We’ll be back before we need to eat.” He turns, looks over everyone. “Get ready,” he says, letting some of his agitation leak out into his tone in the form of irritation. “We’ve got a mission.”

But he knew they wouldn’t find Pony in the stronghold.

There weren’t a lot of people in the area, and word travelled fast. If Show Pony was staying with someone else, or if anyone had even seen them recently, Cherri would’ve found out pretty quick.

BL/ind had Show Pony, and he had no idea why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be posting some more bonus content throughout the week, to sort of make up for not posting a chapter of the main fic this week, as well as to get caught up with the current-posted chapter.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, and feel free to leave kudos or a comment! I love hearing what everyone has to say! 😄


	6. Chapters 21 & 22: AAAAHHH writing is hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i meant to post this 2 or 3 days ago and kept forgetting. oops! :')
> 
> anyway, here's 2 original drafts of the beginning of chapter 21, which was really difficult for me to write for some reason. i think i have 2 or 3 other drafts in my notebooks somewhere, too. i knew where i wanted the story to go, but it was nearly impossible for me to get the words down, for some reason.
> 
> Canon Level: 1 (never actually happened within the fic's canon)

Ghoul doesn’t remember much about the city. Why would he? He only lived there for the first five years of his life. Most of what he knows about it come from stories he’s heard, stories told to him growing up or rumors he’s heard passed around one of the strongholds he’s lived in.

He remembers lots of buildings, pressed tightly together. White, blinding in the sunshine. He remembers people, vaguely. He remembers a soft bed, warm arms. Nothing else, not really. A few snippets of a life he doesn’t quite believe he ever lived.

The long hallway Limelight takes them down and the wide, open room they eventually emerge into seem more like the desert than like the stark, sterile environment he’s been expecting. Walls made of hard-packed dirt, sheets and rods of metal here and there to add stability where necessary. Light bulbs, bare and spaced as far apart as possible.

Ghoul’s sticking between Jet and Party. Not because he’s  _ scared, _ but because he’s...uncomfortable. He doesn’t do well with strangers. Well, he does okay with  _ some _ strangers--Jet he’d had no problem with from the get-go--but usually strangers aren’t so talkative and fucking  _ interested _ in him, and usually he has Kobra there to keep him steady.

He takes a moment to look around the room. Rickety shelves are pressed against the dirt walls, filled with supplies exactly like those he finds in Tommy Chow Mein’s store--mostly food (most of which is Power-Pup), some medical supplies, clothes--and forming an open area in the center of the room. There aren’t any chairs or beds or even overturned crates to sit on--which would normally be fine, because it’s clearly a storage room and not something built for comfort or entertaining or whatever, but right now?

Right now he’s got Kobra to worry about.

“Sorry we don’t have any, uh, comfort items or chairs or whatever,” Limelight says, stopping in the middle of the room and turning to look them all over. “People don’t usually camp out in the warehouse, you know?”

“It’s fine,” Jet says, “but, uh, is there something soft I can lay Kobra on?”

Ghoul puts his hand on Kobra’s arm, dangling down by Jet’s side. He’s still got his  _ Good Luck _ helmet on, so Ghoul can’t see how he’s doing, but he’s obviously not feeling  _ great, _ since he’s still passed out over Jet’s shoulder.

“Oh, uh, there’s some clothes and stuff, you can use some as a pillow?” Limelight darts forward, faster than Ghoul would have expected, and he quickly shoves himself between them and Kobra. They blink at him. “Uh,” they say. “Fun Ghoul? You alright?”

“Just get somethin’ for Kobra,” Ghoul says, and the words come out calmer than he wants them to. Still, it’s only when Jet shoots him a confused look that he realizes he’s not speaking in his  _ own voice. _ Fuck. He’s copying Kobra’s flat, cool tones, using  _ his _ voice. It’s not on purpose; it’s just something that happens sometimes. When he’s nervous.

Ghoul hates being nervous.

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Limelight turns and goes over to one of the shelves, allowing Ghoul to focus on Kobra.

“Here, lay ‘im out right over here,” Party says quietly, ducking in to help Jet shift him off his shoulder. Ghoul knows that Party knows why he’s using their brother’s voice. He also knows that Party’s not going to offer him any comfort or reassurances, which is good because if they did, Ghoul would kick their ass. Everyone will just have to deal with Ghoul borrowing Kobra’s voice for a while.

He, Party, and Jet carefully lay Kobra out on the floor. It’s concrete, which sucks because dirt or even wood would be way more comfortable, but it’s not like they have much choice. They can’t leave this room until they know where to find the kidnapped rebels, how to get them off.

Ghoul pulls Kobra’s helmet off to tuck a couple of folded shirts Limelight hands him beneath his neck, setting it on the floor beside him.

Kobra looks  _ bad. _ Like, not death’s-door kinda bad, but. He’s pale and clammy and Ghoul hasn’t seen him like this--well,  _ ever, _ because Kobra’s never fainted before, but he’s exhausted himself with overuse of his powers before, and even without the whole passed-out thing, it was still pretty bad.

Still, Ghoul doesn’t know what to do. If they were at home, he could probably figure it out. But they’re not home. They’re in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar faces--okay, so only one person here is an actual stranger, but he’s not close enough to anyone in Monster’s gang to actually consider them as anything else in this situation--and. And he just doesn’t know what to do! All he can do is stare at Kobra, keeping his hand clasped between both of his own.

Jet kneels on Kobra’s other side and passes a canteen to Ghoul. “I don’t know if it’ll help,” he says with an apologetic smile, “but it probably can’t hurt?”

Oh, right. Water. Ghoul quickly uncaps the canteen and leans closer to Kobra, carefully pouring a bit down his throat. He swallows it, so that’s probably a good sign.

Party and Monster Alarm walk off to one side to discuss something with Limelight. Ghoul doesn’t pay them any attention, watching Kobra intently instead.

It’s weird, being close to him and having all these jumbled thoughts without also having Kobra’s voice in his mind, grounding him. Calming him. He doesn’t want to be in a weird situation, below the streets of Battery fucking City, without Kobra actively by his side.

Yeah, he’s got Party and Jet--which he’s glad about--but it’s not the  _ same. _

Fuck.

“Hey, uh, Ghoul,” Coastal Cooler, leaning against a shelf nearby, calls him. Once Ghoul looks over at him, he continues, “You’ve still got your mask on, bro. It’s cool if you’re keepin’ it on, but everyone else has their gear off. Thought I’d letcha know.”

Ghoul reaches up and touches his face--well, his monster mask. Right. He should probably take it off. He doesn’t really want to, would rather hide behind his mask, remain _Fun Ghoul_ _the supervillain_ rather than simply Ghoul in this situation, but. Jet’s here, Party’s just over there, and...it would be weird if he kept his mask on. Right? He usually doesn’t care about whether he seems weird or not, but suddenly it seems like a much bigger deal to _not_ be weird than to keep hiding his face.

He takes his mask off, setting it gingerly beside Kobra’s helmet. He’ll be fine.

Limelight pauses in whatever they were saying to Monster and squints at Ghoul from the other side of the room. Ghoul glares back at them, clutches tighter to Kobra’s hand.

“Hey, you look familiar,” they say, leaning in closer. They purse their lips, studying him. He scowls at them. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? “Have I seen you ‘round the city or something? Are you a recent desert-dweller, or what?”

He shakes his head, doesn’t say anything. He’s never seen Limelight in his life, not before today.

“Uh, Ghoul hasn’t been in the city since he was a kid,” Jet says. He glances over at Party, then ducks his head down when Limelight’s gaze shifts to him. “I think, anyway.”

Party nods. “You wouldn’ta seen him recently, that’s for sure. Not without his mask on, anyway. He must just have one’a those faces, y’know?”

“Oh,” says Limelight. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” They give him one last look before turning back to Monster.

That was weird. Ghoul has no idea why Limelight would find him familiar. It unnerves him, adding on to the already tense feeling he gets from this whole situation.

He knows it was his idea to come here and to contact the city rebels, but that was when he thought  _ Kobra _ would be with him.

Kobra moves then, clenching his hand around Ghoul’s fingers and turning his head. He opens his eyes, looking around wildly for a moment before meeting Ghoul’s gaze. He relaxes almost instantly, though his grip doesn’t loosen.

“Holy shit,” Ghoul says, feeling lighter already. He leans in close, notes that Kobra’s still pale, but not nearly as bad as he had been a few minutes ago. “You alive?”

“Yeah,” Kobra replies. “Mostly, anyway. Just…”

“Exhausted,” Ghoul finishes. He and Jet help him to sit up. “There’s water. Food. Prob’ly some medicine or other shit, I dunno. Need anything?”

“A bed,” he says dryly, and Ghoul can’t help but crack a grin at his tone. He looks around, nods to Party and Jet, frowns at Limelight. Ghoul doesn’t know exactly what Kobra’s getting from them, but he’s gotta be picking up on how uncomfortable Ghoul is. Of course, now that Kobra’s awake and aware, he’s much better, but. Still.

“All good,” Kobra says to him. “No one’s near enough for me to pick up their thoughts--just the nine of us. And that one--” he nods to Limelight, “--is on our side. No one’s gonna do anythin’ to ya.”

“I know,” Ghoul says, and it’s true. Even if it didn’t feel that way until just now. “Thanks.”

Kobra tilts his head to one side, narrows his eyes. “Are you usin’ my voice?”

Ghoul frowns, clears his throat. “Not on purpose,” he says, forcing himself to speak in his own voice. 

Kobra’s silent for a moment, studying him, then he nods. “Right.” He leans forward, plants a soft kiss on Ghoul’s cheek, looks at Jet. “Ask Party for the plan,” he says quietly. “Monster’s gang is gettin’ antsy.”

 

\----------  
  
  


Ghoul can’t remember much about the city. He’d only lived here until he was five years old, after all; he’s not even sure what’s actually a memory of living in the city, and what’s just a story he was told growing up, or a rumor he’d heard passed around one of the strongholds he’s lived in.

Crawling around underneath the city in tunnels made of dirt and bits of metal is more like living in the desert than he was expecting, for sure. Somehow he’d thought things would be a lot more high-tech here. Maybe it’s just because the rebels can’t get their hands on the good stuff without cluing BL/ind in on everything.

Anyway, so he doesn’t know exactly what the city’s like, and he figures it’s gonna be a while before he actually  _ sees _ the city, because the city rebel they’re following, Limelight, leads them into what looks like a cross between a cave and Tommy Chow Mein’s shop and tells them this is it. This is where they stop for the day.

And that’s fine. Ghoul has no problem with staying down here until they know exactly where to go to bust everyone out of jail or whatever, but there’s no bed as far as he can tell and Kobra’s still passed out on Jet’s shoulder, and Ghoul would feel pretty bad for making Kobra sleep on like, a concrete-and-dirt floor or whatever.

“We can’t go up to the surface for a few more hours,” Limelight explains, waving their hands around as they speak. “Not ‘til Red gives the all-clear. So you’re all stuck in the warehouse for a while!”

“This where you keep all the stuff ya smuggle out?” Party asks, looking around. There’s canned food and other supplies on rickety shelves pushed up against the walls, and a bare area a few yards wide in the center of the room, where everyone’s standing.

Limelight beams at Party and launches into an explanation of their smuggling tactics, or something like that--Ghoul’s not paying attention anymore, instead going over to Jet and helping him lay Kobra down on the floor. He takes Kobra’s helmet off and sets it on the ground nearby, leans in to take a closer look at him.

Kobra’s seriously not looking too hot. Pale and kinda clammy when Ghoul lays a hand against his cheek. Fuck. This is somethin’ he can just sleep off, right? Exhaustion from using his power too much. Right?

“Here.”

Ghoul looks up at Jet, who’s passing him a canteen from their own supplies. He takes it, tilts Kobra’s head up and pours some water down Kobra’s throat. 

He swallows it fine, so that’s probably a good sign, but he doesn’t wake up or anything, so who knows?

“He just needs to rest a little,” Jet says, and Ghoul shoots him a look. Fuck, is Ghoul really that easy to read? It’s not like  _ Jet _ can read his fuckin’ mind, after all. “You remember how Party was after they pushed themself too far. Kobra will be fine.” He puts his hand on Ghoul’s shoulder, and Ghoul considers snapping at him, but...well, he really does like the guy. If he wants to try and be all reassuring-shoulder-pats or whatever, who’s Ghoul to stop him?

“Whatever,” Ghoul says, turning his attention back to Kobra and brushing his sweaty bangs back from his face. “I’ll watch him ‘til we gotta go. Just wish there was a bed or somethin’ for him.”

“Maybe they have a pillow or some blankets in the supplies,” Jet suggests.

“Oh shit, so  _ that’s _ the Kobra Kid!” Limelight interrupts them, crowding into Ghoul’s personal space to peer down at Kobra.

Ghoul feels himself tensing up, and he shifts to put himself between them and Kobra. He glares at her, and then remembers he’s wearing his mask, still. Which, okay, the mask is pretty fuckin’ scary, but his glares are  _ way _ scarier. 

Limelight blinks at him.”Uh,” they say. “Everything okay?”

“He needs somewhere comfy to lay down,” Ghoul says. He’s copying Kobra’s flat, cool tones. It’s not really an intentional choice; it’s just something that happens sometimes. When he’s nervous.

Fuck, Ghoul  _ hates _ being nervous.

They blink at him again. “Oh, yeah, sure.” They straighten up, look around. “Well, there’s not a lot here. Got some jackets and stuff, if you wanna use a couple for like, a pillow or somethin’.”

“I’ll get them,” Jet says, and fuck, Ghoul actually really doesn’t want Jet to leave, not even for like, a minute. Where the hell is Party? Oh, they’ve moved to stand next to Ghoul. Okay. This is fine.

He feels himself relax a bit, since Party’s here too. Well, the other four boneheads--okay, so Strawberry’s not that boneheaded, they’re actually pretty okay--are here, and that’s at least better than being completely alone with a passed-out boyfriend and a total stranger who keeps getting into his space, but he feels much better with Party or Jet nearby, too.

“So what’s the plan, once we can get movin’ again?” Monster Alarm asks. She’s standing with Strawberry against one of the walls, near the door they’d come through earlier.

“Well I can’t give you the whole plan, because parts of it depend on whatever news Red and Hen bring when they meet us here.” Limelight shrugs. “Hopefully the Kobra Kid’ll be up and movin’ by the time we have to go, though, ‘cause we’ll definitely have to walk through a couple streets to get to the safe house, and luggin’ a body around is a surefire way to get stopped by a patrol, you know?”

Ghoul looks down at Kobra again, frowns. He’s breathing pretty evenly, and he’s not sweating as much now, so hopefully that means he’s resting okay.

“Here.” Jet’s back, handing him a couple of BL/ind-white jackets. Ghoul balls them up and tucks them under Kobra’s head. Hopefully it makes him a little more comfortable.

“So,” Fruit Punch, who’s seated on the floor next to Coastal Cooler, says, “When you say Red and Hen, do you mean, like, the  _ actual _ Red and Hen?”

Limelight nods, a smug smile on their face. “Are they pretty famous in the desert, then?”

“Everyone knows Red Rooster and Mother Hen,” Coastal Cooler says, “in our stronghold, at least. They’re the only ones who actually get, uh, the good stuff outta here.”

“Yeah, they’re good at what they do,” Limelight says. “No one dodges Better Living suspicion better than them! Not a lot of rebels who can keep their government jobs  _ and _ run a smuggling ring, you know? Surveillance is  _ hell _ when you’re an agent.”

“Wait.” That’s Jet, looking at Limelight in confusion. “You’ve--there’s--you actually have people on the inside?”

“Oh yeah.” Limelight nods. “Not many, ‘cause like I said it’s tough--I mean, I don’t even have like, a private sector job anymore, ‘cause BL/ind started puttin’ my face all over the city a couple weeks ago--but they manage it.” They tilt their head then, studying Jet for a moment, and then their eyes widen. “Wait, holy shit, you’re  _ Jet Star!” _

“Um.” Jet looks super uncomfortable now, eyes darting around. “Yeah. That’s me.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! remember everyone: writing is hard and it's okay if the words don't come out the way you want them to at first. take a break, work on something else maybe, and keep trying. you'll get it eventually. 💖
> 
> tomorrow there will be a new chapter of doesn't have to all be destruction up, and i'm REALLY excited for it!!!


End file.
